This is a story that’s I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time and I’m hoping to find a fitting partner here on E to give it a good spin. The basic premise of the story is take on a classic Beauty and the Beast trope. Basic themes will involve some Age play, Horror, Fantasy, Undeath (not Necrophilia) Romance and Drama .If the basic idea of this does not interest you read no further. The setting and terms are partially based on the Eberron setting for D&D 3rd edition but not a c&p.

The Gender of my Partner really doesn't matter.

The setting

Karnath was once a peaceful nation that enjoyed a long age of prosperity and benevolent rule under the King Kaius I. The kingdom enjoyed a friendly relationship with the neighbouring Kingdom of Drothia to the South and had virtually no relationship with the distant Dwarven kingdoms to the north and West or the Elven tribes to the East. This all changed when the royal family of Drothia was overthrown by the Church of the Sovereign Host which sought to unite the entire realm under its religious rule.

Seeing it’s neighbour turn into a fanatical Theocracy overnight Karnath took steps to protect it’s people from their influence, it wasn’t long before a war broke out despite the efforts of the Karnathi branch of The Sovereign Host to negotiate peace. The war that so suddenly started lasted for close to a century, by that time King Kaius III was now ruling the kingdom with an Iron fist, modeling his rule after the strong military tradition of his ancestors before him.

Karnath was losing, with no allies to turn to King Kaius turned to the one offer he had been given A secretive and ancient cult calling itself The Blood of Vol offered its aid in the form of the forbidden Dark Arts of Necromancy and Blood Magic. It turned the tide of battle in ways that were not believed possible. Legions of undead were raised to bolster the thinning armies of Karnath which grew in size after each battle as the bodies of the fallen were added to it’s numbers. The Gods had been deaf and blind when Karnath was attacked by those who conquered in the name of the divine, they acted with the same indifference when their faithful were slaughtered by the undead tides and dark creations of The Blood of Vol. The century old War ended in half as much time, this was 60 years ago and The Kingdom of Karnath knows peace once more.

But it was changed irrevocably.

All traces of organised religion were wiped away, churches burned to the ground and idols broken so none may ever seek to worship the uncaring gods that betrayed the people of Karnath. The Blood of Vol is the only ideology that is accepted as religion and with it Necromancy and Blood Magic are not only accepted but honored as respected schools of Magic. Karnath keeps its military tradition strong, leaning heavily upon the restless dead to keep eternal vigil. Undead work the fields and farms of the people and labour in factories and mines tirelessly so the living may pursue different professions. Art, science, arcana and technology entered a renaissance and prosperity returned to Karnath. King Kaius III still rules the Kingdom with the same determination and unwavering rule now made eternal through the gift of Vampirism. The Karnathi people enjoy a safety and quality of life as long as they serve their ruler without question and accept that upon death they will continue to serve either in body or mind as an unliving servant.

Baron Serghei Caramitru

Serghei Caramitru was among the last of a long line of Paladins when King Kaius III turned away from the gods and embraced the Dark Arts to save his people from certain doom. Serghei would once have stood against such a blasphemous choice were it not for the fact that he had suffered terrible loss during the war and his faith had been broken when the gods refused to intervene in the terrible conflict that spilled the blood of their servants on both sides. When the call for a new order came Serghei forsake his vows and devotion to the divine and wholefully accepted the dark arts as his own.

Serghei championed his kingdom’s new direction as no other, elevating himself to what would be known as a Bone-Knight, dark reflections of the once noble Templars they once were turned into commanders of undead legions and dreaded enemies to any who dared to threaten Karnath and its people. For his part in the War that was won Serghei was awarded the noble rank of Baron, a title that he had once sacrificed for his holy calling and now returned to him as the last of his line. 60 years have passed since that day and Baron Caramitru still dwells alone in his family's keep since that day surrounded by a horde of undead servants and soldiers which patrol his lands and protect its borders and the township of Trysta nearby.

Few have seen the Baron in person the last decades, once there was a time where he at least appeared on the yearly venerations of the war’s end and other holidays of note but it has been over 30 years since he last appeared. In the present the people of Trysta know the Baron only as the menacing dark knight clad in an armor of fused and enchanted bone riding an undead steed occasionally encountered on the road or seen in the distance, alone or occasionally accompanying a squad of undead soldiers patrolling the area. Many believe him to have transcended into a state of undeath, eternally pledging himself to their safety. While many admire and appreciate the Baron few would casually approach him or stay around him for long. His dreadful appearance a grim reminder of a dark time when fear and terror were used as weapons as much as necromancy and blood magic.

The Game

I will be taking the role of the good Baron who is not as dead and desiccated (at least not in the physical sense) as believed His background is a bit more extensive than this but I like to keep some mystery that can be discovered in game.

The Baron has forgotten (or refuses to remember) much of his life and surrounds himself with unfeeling undead, his life has been drained of any form of joy and pleasure. He does not lament or regret anything, he simply surrendered himself fully to his duty and feels he has no need for anything else in life.

A new element introduced in his static existence will upset it all, a young vibrant flame to warm his old bones and inject warm blood into his cold heart. Will the baron allow joy, passion, desire and perhaps even love to enter his life once more? That will be up to you, my partner.

The offer I make is filled with well applied (I hope) stereotypes and tropes very much alike the classic Beauty and the beast stories that exist in many forms and shapes. I’m looking for a deep and romantic story with plenty of passionate expressions of desire. I have some story and drama elements in mind to shake things up at some point and will be more then happy to take on the role of GM at certain points to entertain you. I accept co writing and further storyline evolution according to my partner’s input, nothing is set in stone.

My character will be a tall, imposing and powerful man of experience and maturity and as such I am looking to pair him with something contrasting.

One or any combination of said traits is my primary preference but I will consider any inspired background thrown my way (even if it’s F but I am heavily inclined towards a MxM romance). Options I have already considered to be fun :

*A squire/student wanting to learn the arts of Necromancy and become a Bone-Knight.

*An Elven tribesman on the run , captured or found wounded and dying by the Baron and finding himself a reluctant (for now) guest.

*A bard looking to know the Baron’s tale.

Again these are just ideas, not demands. Though knowing my character a true damsel or “weak” character will be sent away quite quickly.

The only “demand” or expectation I have is that there will be romance, it doesn't need to come easy but I’m expecting a spark to cross at one point.

I’ll be editing this post more over time and add some images of the baron and Karnath for atmosphere purposes but I want to get the ball rolling already.

Feel free to comment ,PM me with questions, requests or any of the above.

The Blood of Vol is an ancient religion dedicated to the meaning of blood, the mysteries of heredity, death, and the undead. Most of its members believe that blood is the source of life and that undeath provides immortality and a path to divinity.

If any single religious doctrine unites the Blood of Vol, it is the concept worshipers call the Divinity Within. This notion is embodied in one of the Seekers’ most treasured axioms, spoken at the opening of almost every ritual gathering:Look not to the skies, nor to the depths below, nor even to the distant past or future. Seek the divine within, for the blood is the life, and in its call can be heard the promise of eternal life. One has but to listen.

This chant illustrates how the faith stands apart from more traditional religions. Seekers believe in no divinity but that which courses through their own veins, and refuse to acknowledge the existence of any “god” on principle alone. Seekers hold that any “creator” who would devise the plane of the afterlife as a soul’s final reward is worthy only of contempt. Thus, the faith focuses on the pragmatic—specifically, the lifeordeath coin toss that is existence.

Seekers believe that traditional faith is a self-indulgent conceit, a means for small minds and even smaller souls to come to terms with the true nature of existence. In an unforgiving world, the only faith that is not misplaced is faith in oneself and one’s own capabilities. When priests of Vol meditate on their daily spells, for example, they are praying not to deities or to concepts, but in truth, to themselves. The Divinity Within grants the power to shape reality, not some outside force.

Afterlife and Souls

Seekers maintain that blood itself is the “soul” of life, coursing through the veins of sentient beings like a liquid god. In the mindset of most Vol cults, creatures that know nothing of blood—constructs, plants, oozes, and the like—are thus removed from true divinity. Vol doctrine holds that blood truly is life, and that without it, there is no real life at all. As a result, Seekers believe that blood holds the key to myriad doorways of power and wisdom, including the greatest passage of all: the door to life everlasting.

The concept of the Divinity Within is central to the Seekers’ view of the soul and to any notion of an afterlife. They absolutely believe in The Afterlife, and a few of the most powerful in the faith even claim to have been there and returned to tell of its vast emptiness. These grim testaments are often spoken in cult sermons all across Khorvaire to further embolden the Seekers’ drive to escape that gray fate. The Blood of Vol maintains that the key to such an escape lies in the Divinity Within. Those who look outward for succor are destined for betrayal by the very powers they revere, doomed to a soulless eternity. Only by looking inward, and by drawing strength from the Divinity Within, can a soul hope to find its own afterlife: a beautiful creation crafted to its particular nature and character, and filled with an eternity of happiness.

The high position of the undead within the church might surprise those outside the faith. Vampires, liches, and mummies no longer have blood or life, and so can never fully bond to the Divinity Within. The Seekers believe that the intelligent undead have made this terrible sacrifice to overcome mortality and to serve the sect. Thus, they are revered and respected, but they are also pitied, for they can never touch perfection. The undead are champions of the church, guiding the people of Vol to their true destiny, but few who follow the faith would make that terrible choice.